Sixth Bell | A SEES PSA | Video

[ktfod]

[Feed clicks on, and there’s a white, fluffy animal, all up in its grill, tail wagging and tongue hanging out, clearly excited to be the center of attention. Barely visible behind him are a few sets of feet, and finally the camera is lifted up to show the group: Minato, Ken, and Akihiko.]

It’s going-- go on with it. [Guess who doesn’t sound particularly excited- yep, it’s Shinjiro.]

[Like every time Minato has posted/been part of a post, he's staring directly into the camera with a blank expression, and says,] Hi. [Differently this time, there's two of his teammates standing next to him with Shinji manning the camera, although none of them look particularly excited to be there. They're an incredibly dour group, this selection of SEES, although Koromaru can be heard jingling his tags while scratching an itch with his leg.

Minato is also holding his communicator up like it's a microphone with all the aplomb of a karaoke champion.]

Today, we'll be educating you about something we've been fielding a lot of questions about. Ken-kun, could you hold up your Evoker?

Are you sure about this…? [But leader’s words are leader’s words, so Ken obediently pulls out the gun, a small silver pistol, and holds it up. He’s so short, is the camera catching this?]

It's okay, [says Minato, perfectly deadpan.] I'm his guardian. It's safe. … Because it's not a real gun. When we shoot ourselves, it doesn't fire anything. Please don't be alarmed. [His delivery doesn't get any less wooden as he goes on. Minato has definitely gotten sick of explaining this, no matter how patient he is every time it comes up.]

Are you just going to say it like that? We shoot ourselves? We’re trying to teach people about it so let’s just do it, they’ll see for themselves. [Akihiko cutting in with a good degree of annoyance in his voice. He’s not looking too keen about standing around here, not to mention it took Shinjiro forever to focus the damn camera on them.]

Yeah, like that’s way better. Just shoot yourself on camera and let everyone puzzle it out. Dumbass…. [It’s muttered quietly from off-screen behind the camera, almost like the worst director commentary in the world.]

What, did you say something? I’ll--

[Minato interrupts with a mild,] No flirting on camera. [Because he can't resist teasing them. It's way better than having to explain Persona again, that's for sure.]

[That comment gets the most startled look that Ken fails to hide before he looks at something above the camera like it’s the grossest thing ever. Sorry Shinji]

We’re not- tch. Here, lemme just do it. [Said as Akihiko’s the one taking out his Evoker now, but not to hold up and show. He’s quick to just put it up to his head--]

Sanada-san, no, we’re inside...

Huh? So let’s go outside then, doing it like this won’t prove anything to anyone.

Why the hell do you have to ‘prove’ shit…? [God they’re all idiots.]

[Minato belatedly decides to maybe act a little bit like a leader. Just a little.] We're Persona-users. When we shoot ourselves with special fake guns called Evokers, we summon something called Persona to defend us. So, don't worry about it. You don't need to ask me about it anymore.

[Beat.] If you have questions, ask them. [Minato leans over to hold the phone up to Akihiko like he's interviewing him with the mic.] This is Akihiko-senpai. He's been part of SEES the longest, except for Shinjiro-senpai. Ask them everything.

Are you seriously pawning this off on me? Wasn’t this your damn idea?! [Pissy.]

….And Aki is your choice for that?

Hey, fuck you! [More pissy.]

[Dryly:] Watch it, he just said no flirting.

[Meanwhile, Minato looks down at Ken.] I think they got it. Let's go get lunch.

[Ken looks to Akihiko, then grimaces at Shinjiro behind the camera, then turns to Minato with a sigh.] I don’t know if this counts as ‘they got it’ but… okay. I think I learned something today that I didn’t really want to know……..

[PSA concluded, the camera dips back down again-- and what do you know, it just so happens to land on the stylishly-dressed Koromaru. The bickering continues in the background, more muffled now, but the camera stays focused on the dog. Those especially perceptive viewers may even note that the dog has the same red armband as the rest of the group. It lingers for another half minute or so, watching the dog drag his ass on the carpet for a second, stretch, and then trot off. Film cuts.]

[Akihiko is red, Shinjiro is darker red, Minato is blue, and Ken is orange.]

Comments

[boobwindow]

You don't strike me as vengeful.

Although, if you did get back at that guy for the post he made of you then maybe I can see it.

[amadaman]

Well, deceiving people with first impressions is what makes surprise attacks easier.

And oh, I threw glitter in his bag. I think I victimized his roommate more than Peter Quill himself, but he wasn't going to get away scot free.

[boobwindow]

[ A low whistle. ]

I approve of the glitter. [ A safer option. ] What do these Personas look like anyway?

[amadaman]

The Personas?

Well, they all look different. You can have pretty cute ones like Minato-san's Jack Frost, but most of the rest of ours are pretty big. Nemesis looks... she has a humanoid shape, but most of her body is also a huge wheel. And--

[and he crouches, bringing the communicator with him until Koromaru's in the screen too.]

Koromaru's Cerberus is a three-headed dog, like the one in the Greek underworld.

1/3

[boobwindow]

And your Persona is a wom--

2/3

[boobwindow]

[ Her cat starts to make low growling noises. She puts a hand on his head to soothe him, half-distracted by Koromaru.

Well, not Koromaru... but the idea the dog has a Persona. ]

3/3

[boobwindow]

... wait. Dogs, too?

[amadaman]

[Oh, there's the cat again. Koromaru watches the cat curiously, but he doesn't growl or bark at all. A moment later there's a call of "Koromaru" from one of the other boys off-screen and he looks up at that before wandering off, leaving Ken alone in the conversation again.]

It's possible. He's the only dog, though. There's only ten of us in all, anyway.

And yes. At least, I've been calling Nemesis a female Persona.

[boobwindow]

[ Her cat slinks off as well, leaving a patch of orange fur all over her shirt which she begins to pick at. ]

That is kind of odd... maybe it's intelligent animals it applies to.

[ A quick pause as she begins looking up something. ]

Let's see...

"In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia/Rhamnusia ("the goddess of Rhamnous") at her sanctuary at Rhamnous, north of Marathon, was the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris (arrogance before the gods). Another name was Adrasteia, meaning "the inescapable"."

[ Her eyes flick back to Ken. ]

Definitely a woman.

[amadaman]

Yup. I've read as much as I could get my hands on with her. She was definitely a woman.

[He rolls his shoulders in a shrug at that. He's the only one in SEES whose Persona -- at least their initial one -- was of a deity whose gender didn't match his own, but he had figured that it had to do with his mother. It hadn't mattered as long as it gave him a way to fight.]

She's quite pretty, if you ask me.

[boobwindow]

I'll take your word for it. I've never heard of a Persona before. They might not exist where I'm from.

[amadaman]

Yeah, from what I hear it's pretty unique to our world. There's nowhere else I've heard of them existing in.

Then again, like I said, there's only ten of us in our world, too. It's a really rare power, and even we wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for the Dark Hour where we fight the monsters there. That's only been around for a little longer than me.

[boobwindow]

The Dark Hour? What is that?

[ She scratches the bridge of her nose. ]

Do you know where those monsters come from?

[amadaman]

In our world, there are twenty-five hours in a day. The twenty-fifth hour exists between the last second of one day and the first second of the next. That's where the Shadows are, and we call it the Dark Hour.

[boobwindow]

That doesn't mess up the calendar at all?

[amadaman]

[He shakes his head.]

Not at all. It's... most people aren't aware that it exists. When the Dark Hour falls, people change into coffins wherever they are and stay that way until it ends, but they don't sense it at all. If you were in our world but as a normal person. To them, it isn't something that exists.

Sometimes people wander in, but if they manage to survive it unscathed, they tend to forget about it for the most part.

[boobwindow]

[ Her expression falls for a moment. ]

... that sounds creepy.

[amadaman]

Oh, yeah.

It's really, really creepy. Water turns into blood, and the moon turns green, and Shadows are slimy a lot of the time.

[boobwindow]

And you're dealing with this everyday?

[amadaman]

Yeah. It's been a couple of years for me, but I hear it's been around for about a decade, now.

[boobwindow]

That's a long time for a problem like that to hang around.

[amadaman]

Yeah. Nobody knew how to fix it, until a few months ago.

... It'll end soon. That's what I've been told.

[boobwindow]

Does it? Is one of your friends from ahead in your timeline?

[amadaman]

[Ken nods and turns the camera a bit so that Minato comes into view, standing a little ways away with his own communicator in hand but mostly talking to the other two SEES boys.]

I haven't asked him about it much, though.

[boobwindow]

[ You kids and your wacky J-Rock hair. ]

Why not?